They're Back!

Viewers of movies in other Indian languages seem to be far less harsh than their Tamil counterparts when it comes to welcoming back actresses after a break. Above are photos of three of my favorite actresses, who are making comebacks in films (though none of them are in Tamil). Simran (seen at a promotion for Rexona in Hyderabad) and Shobana (at a press meet after she announced her comeback) will be acting in Telugu films after long breaks. This weekend will also see Kajol, reentering the Hindi film industry after a long maternity leave, pairing up with Aamir Khan in Fanaa.

Shobana was underutilized even when she was younger. So it’s no surprise that Tamil cinema doesn’t have any offers for her now. But Simran pretty much ruled Tamil cinema as long as she was around and even she hasn’t been able to grab any good roles after marriage. And its not like she has let herself go and ballooned up to twice her size(like some other actresses). Ofcourse her insistence that her hubby be her costar would’ve driven away many producers but I’m not sure that’s the only reason.

The Tamil film industry has for long maintained a rather biased attitude towards actresses. Heroes remain heroes even after they become dads and maybe even granddads. But once our actresses even get married, let alone have children, they immediately stop being heroine material. The lucky ones like Kushboo stay around for a while, pairing up with lesser heroes (remember her movies with Jayaram, Ramki, etc.?) before making a smooth transition into sister and anni roles. The unlucky ones like Ambika show up in marginal roles or are simply forgotten. Its quite telling when even an actress like Nadhiya, who looked as pretty and young as before in M.Kumaran S/O Mahalakshmi, could only make a comeback as mom to a young actor.

But television and its megaserials have given our actresses a new lease of life. The megaserials have now become an automatic choice for actresses who are over the hill (Kausalya, Devayani, Seetha to name a few). It’s a win-win situation for both since the megaserial gets publicity with a famous actress even if she is past her prime while the actress is able to continue acting and get paid the big bucks. Ramya Krishnan, with her Thanga Vettai, has proved that an actress doesn’t even have to be restricted to megaserials.

Since our industry is blatantly hero-centric, the heroes ask for and get away with being paired up with much younger heroines. This simply leads to a string of young, usually North Indian actresses who barely make an impression and disappear after a film or two. Once in a while, it might be a refreshing change to see an established actress reenter films with a strong role…